I was out mowing my rather large back yard for the last time this year. The front gets mowed on a regular basis, but the back is a bit rustic.

I was about 1/4 done, and felt something like a big fat fly land in my hair. Brushed it away with my hand. Then I started to see a lot of spots before my eyes. And they were not flies.

Seems that in my previous pass down the yard, I had mowed over an underground bee hive. It was never there before. By the time I got back up that way, they was looking for ME, and angry as all get out.

Pretty soon, I'z a steppin' and a fetchin' like in the old Charlie Daniels song. It was all I could do to dive back in and get the mower shut off. Managed to swat most of them away, but at least one managed to get up inside my t-shirt and zap me right in the side. Man, that hurts. (Note to self....tuck the t-shirt in when mowing the lawn.)

I got a welt the size of a silver dollar, and the sucker is dead on top of one of my ribs. An hour later, it aches like heck. Just took some ibuprofen to try to calm it down. I don't think I've been stung by a bee for 40 years, and I sure didn't miss it...LOL.

I'm not gonna bother 'em. They looked like your average size honeybees, not wasps. The earth needs honeybees. After letting them calm down for about 20 minutes, I was able to go back to finishing the mowing, and they didn't bother me anymore. I probably would not have been stung if the one had not got caught up inside my shirt.

I'll jess go back and poke a marker of some kind in the ground back there to remind me that they might still be there next spring when I mow for the first time. I sure won't forget what the marker means!What meowing lurks in the hearts of man? The kittyman knows....MEOWhahahahahahha!

I was out mowing my rather large back yard for the last time this year. The front gets mowed on a regular basis, but the back is a bit rustic.

I was about 1/4 done, and felt something like a big fat fly land in my hair. Brushed it away with my hand. Then I started to see a lot of spots before my eyes. And they were not flies.

Seems that in my previous pass down the yard, I had mowed over an underground bee hive. It was never there before. By the time I got back up that way, they was looking for ME, and angry as all get out.

Pretty soon, I'z a steppin' and a fetchin' like in the old Charlie Daniels song. It was all I could do to dive back in and get the mower shut off. Managed to swat most of them away, but at least one managed to get up inside my t-shirt and zap me right in the side. Man, that hurts. (Note to self....tuck the t-shirt in when mowing the lawn.)

I got a welt the size of a silver dollar, and the sucker is dead on top of one of my ribs. An hour later, it aches like heck. Just took some ibuprofen to try to calm it down. I don't think I've been stung by a bee for 40 years, and I sure didn't miss it...LOL.

I'm not gonna bother 'em. They looked like your average size honeybees, not wasps. The earth needs honeybees. After letting them calm down for about 20 minutes, I was able to go back to finishing the mowing, and they didn't bother me anymore. I probably would not have been stung if the one had not got caught up inside my shirt.

I'll jess go back and poke a marker of some kind in the ground back there to remind me that they might still be there next spring when I mow for the first time. I sure won't forget what the marker means!

Antihistamines are better than ibuprofen for getting rid of the pain of bee stings. Learnt the hard way a few years back by "discovering" a swarm that had been disturbed by kids chucking stuff at them.Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Sorry to hear you got stung. Fascinated to hear that honeybees have underground hives in Wisconsin! I wonder if that is because it is so much more cold up there than out here. In our area we have wasps that nest underground (and everywhere else), but the honeybees seem to build their hives in trees (or in structures provided by beekeepers.)

Sorry to hear you got stung. Fascinated to hear that honeybees have underground hives in Wisconsin! I wonder if that is because it is so much more cold up there than out here. In our area we have wasps that nest underground (and everywhere else), but the honeybees seem to build their hives in trees (or in structures provided by beekeepers.)

Thanks, Angela. It's starting to calm down a bit now.

I don't think it's that common for honeybees to nest underground, but I am certainly no expert on the subject. I don't know what other kind of bees they would be...they certainly were not wasps. Not very big, not the big fat fuzzy kind one usually associates with honeybees.

When I went back and looked again, after they had calmed down, I saw about a 2 inch round hole with them coming and going and thankfully, ignoring me. They are quite welcome to live there if they wish. I shall mow a wider berth around them in the spring if they should survive the winter and still be there.What meowing lurks in the hearts of man? The kittyman knows....MEOWhahahahahahha!

Lucky for me even with half a liver I don’t react to insect stings. You can also apply monosodium glutamate to the sting area for pain relief. Hope you don't have any more symptoms.

Nothing other than the localized pain. And that is going away slowly. The fact that it was directly over a rib did not help. I got stung once or twice as a young lad, and never had any type of reaction other that the usual ouch.

As the saying goes, I've been in tougher jams.What meowing lurks in the hearts of man? The kittyman knows....MEOWhahahahahahha!

I swooped over an outdoor pet dish once, years ago, wearing a long nightgown. I did not realize that there was a carnivorous little yellow jacket in that pet dish enjoying some tasty cat food. I somehow managed to get a yellow jacket caught in my nightgown. It seems they can sting more than once. Not pleasant!

Once the welts stopped hurting and just started itching, I found that a poultice of baking soda helped a little.

LOL...was not wearing blue...black pants and a gray t-shirt. If I'd tucked the shirt in, I probably would have been OK.
They must be some kind of a small wasp, as I think they were smooth, not fuzzy.
And those little suckers chased me quite a ways!

It's down to a big red blotch now, the swelling is pretty much gone. I am sure by the morning it won't be bothering me any more.
I did put a stake in next to the hole so I don't make the mistake of mowing over it again without checking to see if they are still buzzin' about!

Ohh, Angela....
Wasp in the nightgown? Not a pretty thought!What meowing lurks in the hearts of man? The kittyman knows....MEOWhahahahahahha!

I think yellow jackets eat other insects. Not exactly sure. If they eat mosquitoes and flies, then they are welcome in my garden.

Yellow jackets are pests at picnics and barbecues, but I've found that giving them their own small piece of meat (a tablespoon or so) off to the side of the backyard party sometimes helps to keep them off of the foods I'm trying to serve to my guests. I often serve the yellow jackets their meat on a big yellow paper plate. I've heard that flies are attracted to yellow, so I gamble that wasps might be too. Not sure if they are though.